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Peanut Butter & Jelly Granola Bars

Granola bars are one of my favorite snacks. So are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Put the two together and life just doesn’t get much better.

These bars taste like a fresh peanut butter and jelly sandwich folded into a sweet and savory granola bar that’s a solid inch thick. These aren’t the average hard, stale, flimsy granola bars you buy in a package. Not by a long shot.

I know I say this every week, but this is one of my all-time favorite recipes on the blog. It’s the kind of healthy food that puts a smile on your face… and gives you all the energy you need to go run a triathlon or two before sunset.

PB-J Granola Bars

Makes 9 bars

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/3 cup Sucanat (sugar)
  • 2 tablespoons flaxseeds
  • pinch sea salt
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup apple sauce
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup raspberry jam

PBJ-Granola-Bars-Jelly

Step One

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Add the coconut oil, apple sauce, and peanut butter to a saucepan over low heat until melted and incorporated.

Step Two

Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients: rolled oats, flour, Sucanat (sugar), flaxseeds (whole or ground), and salt in a mixing bowl. When the liquid ingredients are melted, slowly drizzle them into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir until well combined.

Step Three

Add the granola to a lightly-oiled 8 x 8 inch pan and press down evenly. Top with the raspberry jam and use a knife (like above) to scrape and swirl the jam into the top layer of the granola mixture.

Bake for about 30 minutes until lightly browned and firm, but don’t overcook because the edges will burn fairly easily. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before attempting to cut and remove from the pan.

PBJ Granola Bars Tall

PBJ Granola Bars Stacked

PBJ-Granola-Bars-Tray

18 Comments

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    • You don’t like peanut butter?! I’m not sure we can be friends anymore 🙂 haha. Yes almond butter would be a perfect sub.

      • I grew up in Turkey. I had never knew anything like Peanut butter before. and I don’t think you can find Peanut butter in Turkey even today. I actually grew up with Nutella:) Even though, it is still my favorite, I know it is not healthy and I fell in love with Almond butter. I tried Peanut butter but did not work for me:( Thanks for replying back.

    • I normally use Trader Joe’s organic reduced sugar brand because it has much less added sugar than most. The brand isn’t super important though. You could even use strawberry, blackberry, etc.

      • Great recipe! Apologies if the answer is posted elsewhere already – but what brand of peanutbutter are you using?

        Or are you making your own?

        • Hi Michael! No, I don’t usually make my own. I buy various brands, but always the ones that have nothing but peanuts (and possibly salt) – I always stay away from brands that have oils, preservatives, etc.

  1. Hi Andrew, what can I use to make this gluten free? GF oats and what type of flour? And would the measurements be the same?
    thank you!!

    • Hi Jill. I don’t have a ton of experience with gluten-free cooking, but I would assume GF oats along with something like sorghum flour might work well? If you’re more familiar with GF flours, I’m sure you can substitute your favorite one in this recipe. The flour isn’t a *huge* deal in this recipe, like it would be in a cake, for example.

    • I made these gluten free with brown rice flour instead of the whole wheat flour – turned out absolutely fine. Very yummy!

    • Thanks, MaryEllen! Yes, you can probably leave out the coconut oil, maybe add just a bit more peanut butter and/or apple sauce as a replacement.

  2. The first time I made this recipe it came out VERY crumbly so I made 1.5x the wet ingredients and it is still having problems staying together :/ Any suggestions?

    • Hmm, sorry to hear that Victoria. It’s been a while since I’ve made these, but I remember them coming out well for me with the ingredients as listed. They are a bit crumbly, but did hold together. Basically, when you put them in the pan, they should be fairly sticky, almost like a batter (but not quite). If it’s too dry at that point, I would add extra applesauce until the consistency is right.

  3. I made these yesterday and they taste really good. I like the jam on top. However, they were really dry. They stayed together fine but you really need a drink with them. I make a similar recipe that is more of a no bake that is good. I think I might try not baking this one as long. Any other tips? Thanks

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